It has been proven that many women don’t have much knowledge about the condition we call bacterial vaginosis and even less when it comes to the bacterial vaginosis causes. Medical science and research have not reached a final conclusion about this condition’s true causes yet. Nevertheless they are pretty sure they are about to understand its true causes and why they occur. When we have the exact knowledge about it’s true causes, it will be much easier to find the right bacterial vaginosis treatment as well as prevent their occurrence.

What most medical scientists, doctors and other medical professionals do agree on is that a main cause of this condition most likely is an imbalance in the bacterial levels in the vagina. Normally the vagina contains a mixture of what is considered as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria. When – for some reason – a process is started that causes the ‘bad’ bacteria to overgrow and overwhelm the ‘good’ then the bacterial vaginosis condition occurs.

The next question is obviously what makes the ‘bad’ bacteria overgrow? What we’re asking is; what causes the bacterial vaginosis causes? Like we have already said, medical professionals haven’t come to a definitive consensus yet, however, research that was recently published points to the imbalance happening because of a change in the pH balance of the vagina.

For example, one of the ‘good’ bacteria is called Lactobacillus. This specie thrives in the optimal vaginal pH balance of about 3.5-4.2, which is slightly acidic. Gardnerella vaginallis is the ‘bad’ bacteria that we think is the main cause of bacterial vaginosis symptoms, thrives at about pH 4.3 or higher, in other words in a more alkaline environment is what the medical experts think is the main cause of this condition.

You can’t tell what the pH balance of your vagina is just by looking at it, or by the way you feel it. There are two ways to find it out; go to your doctor and get your pH balance checked or check it yourself with strips specially made for measuring pH balance. These strips you can buy at any pharmacy or health supplies store.

The reason why doctors hesitate to come out and definitively state that this is the true reason behind bacterial vaginosis is because, the causes themselves can sometimes be very hard to prove.

In this case, doctors have neither been able to prove that the pH imbalance causes bacterial vaginosis, nor that the bacterial vaginosis causes the pH imbalance, according to the strict criteria such proof requires.

by Gerd Petersen & Ellen Dilga

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